[rstephen]

I wish I would of found this forum earlier, it looks like it has a bunch of great resources. I'm an at home cook and have been serious about cooking for the last 10 years.  It's my hobby and what I do in my spare time. For some reason I'm just getting my first set of stainless steel pans.  My question is what do I do about maintaining them?  I've "seasoned" them with several coats of oil heated until it starts smoking then let them cool and repeat.  I've done that about 5 times and have a nice layer of slick coating on the bottom of the pan.  I cooked my first meal in one last night, a steak, seared it in pan then broiled it.  It didn't stick at all Because of the heat my layer of coating became dark brown, although some came off when  I deglazed my pan for the red wine and balsamic reduction. 

My question is what should I do with these pans?  Just wash them out with warm water and let a layer continue to build up on the bottom of the pan like you would cast iron? Or, should I be cleaning them out so they are shiny after every use? 

Thanks! 

Reagan.

 

[french fries]

I don't season my stainless steel pan. I often cook steaks, eggs, fish, crepes... whatever in them, and they don't stick at all either. It does require a bit of adapting my technique however, mainly heating the pan slowly and for a long time. I've never worked with a seasoned stainless steel pan so I'm afraid I won't be of much help to you here. 

 

[rstephen]

Thanks! I think I found the solution. You start with the pan dry no need to season it. Heat it up until water "dances" in it (I'm sure there is a culinary term for this) then add your cooking fat and shortly after whatever you are cooking. I just tried this technique with an egg and it slid around like it was doing the electric slide./img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif

 

[french fries]

I've seen that water trick on rouxbe.com before, but I don't find it necessary. I just heat it really slowly, for a long time, and not too hot (for eggs or crepes), or scorching hot (for steak or potatoes)... I had real problems with sticking in stainless steel when I first switched from Teflon.. but now I can't remember the last time I had any problems with something sticking.

pota-cooked.JPG

• french fries
• Mar 5, 2015